Archaeologists say they have discovered a monument similar to Stonehenge near the ancient British stone circle, dubbing it the most exciting find at the site for 50 years.

The structure is said to be like a wooden version of the world-famous collection of giant stones on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, south-west England.

“This is probably the first major ceremonial monument that has been found in the past 50 years or so,” said Vince Gaffney, a professor from the University of Birmingham, who is leading the archaeological dig. “It will completely change the way we think about the landscape around Stonehenge.”

Israel on Thursday announced the discovery of a 2,000-year-old pagan altar at the site where plans for a new hospital wing have come under fire from ultra-Orthodox Jews who fear bones found there may be of Jews.

It was discovered as the IAA was overseeing development of a hospital wing designed to withstand rockets fired from the nearby Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Much of the world knows Petra, the ancient ruin in modern-day Jordan that is celebrated in poetry as “the rose-red city, ‘half as old as time,'” and which provided the climactic backdrop for “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

But far fewer know Madain Saleh, a similarly spectacular treasure built by the same civilization, the Nabateans.

That’s because it’s in Saudi Arabia, where conservatives are deeply hostile to pagan, Jewish and Christian sites that predate the founding of Islam in the 7th century.

But now, in a quiet but notable change of course, the kingdom has opened up an archaeology boom by allowing Saudi and foreign archaeologists to explore cities and trade routes long lost in the desert.

JERUSALEM — In a crowded laboratory painted in gray and cooled like a cave, half a dozen specialists embarked this week on a historic undertaking: digitally photographing every one of the thousands of fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls with the aim of making the entire file — among the most sought-after and examined documents on earth — available to all on the Internet.

A tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.

According to this article, “If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, since it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.”

Yet the Old Testament includes hundreds of prophecies regarding the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Islamic authorities responsible for Haram as-Sharif, known to Jews as Temple Mount, said digging a trench was necessary to replace 40-year-old electrical cables. They called the Israeli group’s charges on Thursday “sheer propaganda.”

Following a long quest in search of King Herod’s tomb, an archaeologist announced Tuesday that he found what appears to be the ornate remains of the famous Roman era king’s burial site on the edge of the Judean Desert.